


nothing new

by girlsonthetv



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: F/F, Faye/Celica at the very end, Mentor Leon, baby gaye faye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 01:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13423722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlsonthetv/pseuds/girlsonthetv
Summary: Leon gives Faye some much-needed advice on archery and discovering oneself.





	nothing new

"Aim a little bit upwards, Faye." Leon advises calmly as Faye's arms tremble slightly with the effort of pulling the bowstring taut. Leon was impressed at first by Faye's strength, and Faye responded proudly that she had grown up in a village, doing a lot of back-breaking chores. Even so, the unfamiliar weapon is a challenge for her. Which is why they're in the middle of the nearby forest. "And adjust your grip a little - perfect - we don't want you to get a friction burn."

Faye lets the arrow fly, and it hits the target she had carved into an old tree's trunk with a resounding thud, its fellows lying broken in the dirt beneath it. They had been at this for quite a while, ever since the army had stopped to rest at a neaby shrine to Mila early that afternoon. The horizon was gleaming golden now as the sun began to set. "Excellent!" Leon grins at his student, who gasps in triumph. 

Faye raises her arms in victory and accidentally drops the bow. She picks it up with a sheepish smile. "Would you mind if we maybe took a break? My arms..." She waves her stiff limbs around in favor of finishing her sentence properly. Leon understands. Archery is incredibly difficult to pick up, let alone master. He largely did it out of ill-fated young love. Though, he suspects Faye's determination to serve Celica well is an equally powerful force. 

They sit on the ground and drink cool river water, purified by magic, from their separate flasks. Birds chirp and insects scream in the wilderness around them, an endless and oddly harmonious cacophony. Even the middle of nowhere can be just as loud as the bustling cities, Leon muses. Who would have thought, but one only had to listen to hear it to be true. 

"Can I ask you something?" Faye asks suddenly, breaking Leon out of his reverie. "A few things, actually. Do you mind?" 

"Sure, go ahead." Leon says, turning to Faye. Faye can't seem to look him in the eye, eyes darting from the grass to the target to her knees. Leon wonders what she could possibly be wanting to ask him to warrant such nervousness.

"Never mind." Faye says suddenly. "I don't...this is weird..."

"Oh no, don't back out now." Leon teases. "I've seen some weird things in my time. Yours probably doesn't come close." 

Faye chuckles, a harsh, cut-off sound born of nerves. From what Leon had noticed, Faye was a quiet girl, not talking to many other people in the army save for Celica. Her emotions weren't terribly mysterious once you got to know her, but since so few ever did, she was a bit of an enigma. A childhood friend of Celica's, from her days in Ram Village. That was all anyone knew about her. He had a difficult time hiding his shock when she came to him asking for help in training.

"Right. Can't back out now. I...by the gods..." Faye stares at the ground, frustrated at something - possibly herself - before turning to Leon and blurting out, "You're a pansy, right?" 

Leon blinks, almost laughing. "I know you grew up in a village, Faye, but don't run around calling people that unless you want to get very badly hurt." 

"Sorry. Are there other words?" Faye looks like she wants to cry, and Leon feels an overwhelming surge of pity, seeing his younger self in Faye's eyes.

"A man who prefers the company of other men is typically said to be gay." Leon says gently. "A woman who prefers other women is said to be a lesbian." Leon stops at the look on Faye's face, shocked and elated and terrified. 

"I thought only men could be...like that." Faye whispers. 

Leon throws back his head and laughs. Faye turns a deep red. "Oh, don't - don't be embarrassed, Faye. No, plenty of women prefer other women. It's just - for a long time, I thought the reverse, that only women could like each other the way I liked other boys." Leon's smile takes on a tender air as he remembers those days. 

"How did you know?" Faye asks, curiosity sparking in her eyes like thunderous magic. "That you...that you were gay." 

Leon sighs as he takes a mental trip down Memory Lane, Faye looking directly into his eyes like the secret to all things lay within them. "Well, it was a long time ago...I think I always knew. I didn't always know the name for it, but I always knew that girls didn't really interest me. I went on a few dates with girls because that's what real men do, but my heart was never in it. I remember, I was kissing a girl up against a wall once - " Faye blushes, and Leon continues, “ - and once we were done, she asked me if I was really kissing her. I said yes, and she said that it felt like I was actually kissing someone else." Leon smirks. "In my head, I was kissing one of my friends. He was a lot like Celica, now that I’m thinking of him. Too noble for his own good. He enlisted in the army, and I followed. That was where I learned what being gay was. There are quite a few gay men in the army, and lesbians. Have you ever heard the phrase 'she has feathers in her hair'?" Leon asks Faye, and she shakes her head. "That's another way of saying a woman is a lesbian, because there isn't a single pegasus knight in the army who doesn't prefer the company of other women." Leon's shoulders shake with laughter remembering his old compatriots, and Faye's smile is the most genuine and sincere Leon has ever seen it. 

"Do you think you might be a lesbian?" Leon asks gently. "Is that why you're asking me?"

Faye nods, blushing. "I've been thinking about a lot of stuff, ever since I left Ram Village. Ever since Alm left, really. I - I had a crush on him, or thought I did, for a long time. He's the kind of guy that girls get crushes on. Since we lived in the same little village, I rarely went a day without seeing him. I didn't know how I would cope with being away from him for so long, but I got over him really fast." Faye laughs, and it's a happier sound than her chuckle of before. "So fast that I sometimes pretended to be more affected than I really was. Celica...she's changed so much since we were children." Faye's eyes get a far-off look in them that Leon knows he's had in his whenever he thinks about Valbar. "Even though she can take care of herself, I've been thinking about being able to protect her from enemies a lot..." Faye's blush grows steadily deeper as she goes on. "I've just been stewing in my mess of feelings for a while now, and when I got my class changed, I figured since I need advice on the two things I know you're good at, I might as well ask you." 

Leon chuckles. "I don't know if I'd call myself good at being gay, per se. But if you think you might be a lesbian, or have feelings for Lady Celica, or both...just go for it. Confess your feelings. Sure, she might not feel the same way for you, but she doesn't seem like the type of person to be awful about it." 

"No...she isn’t." Faye furrows her brow, thinking deeply, before springing to her feet. "Thanks a lot for talking about this with me, Leon. Can I go now? I think dinner's about ready." 

"Of course." Leon and Faye both know she has ulterior motives other than dinner, but he supposes as her teacher he can let it slide just once. 

~

The next day, Leon sees Faye and Celica holding hands, both blushing delicately, and he smiles. 

“What are you grinning about?” Valbar, standing beside him, asks. He catches sight of Faye and Celica, and smiles. “Good on them.”

Leon smiles, a little wistfully to a trained eye. “Yeah.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second fe fic ive written where two characters have a heart-to-heart during archery practice. 
> 
> I’ve been wanting to write this for a long time + I got inspired to finish it this afternoon replaying Echoes. I headcanon Faye as a lesbian, so I wanted Leon to be a Gay Mentor to her, as he is my fav. 
> 
> Thanks for reading + leaving a comment if you liked it would make me super happy


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